Gas Sensors and Their Selection: F.Hruska, S.Plsek
Gas Sensors and Their Selection: F.Hruska, S.Plsek
While many of the available technologies are able to any sensors and measuring devices are able to perform
measure the gasses, there are used only specific sensors. In the satisfactorily. These conditions are: temperature, pressure,
table I there is presented the suitable technologies of sensors humidity of measured gas and air speed and a number of other
for different gas hazards. parameters.
For example by carbon monoxide there is a mixture of The table III has included typical parameters to right
0,03% in air is toxic, a mixture of 11% in air is flammable and measurement of gas concentration.
toxic, a mixture of 20% in air is asphyxiant and is also
flammable and toxic. Condition Flammable gas Toxic gas
Temperature -25 to +55°C -10 to +40°C
A. Problems of concentration range
Pressure 80 to 110 kPa 90 to 110 kPa
Other problem can depend on the likely concentration of the
Humidity 20 to 90% RH at 20 to 90% RH at
gas in many cases the choice of sensor. Although some
40°C 20°C
technologies are over a very wide range in theory capable of
Air speed Up to 6m/s Up to 4 m/s
measuring. In most safety applications only a relatively small
Table III Mean parameters of environmental conditions
dynamic range is required. If it is necessary to monitor of
concentrations over a wide dynamic range then it may be
The table IV demonstrates the sensitivity of sensor
necessary to use two or more different types of sensors
according to used technologies of sensors. There is showed,
together.
that environmental parameters can influence the result of
sensor. A electronically circuits can compensate the
Technology ppm % LEL % vol influences.
Electrochemical yes n/a yes
IR photometry yes yes yes
Technology T H P S D O2
Pellistor yes yes no Electrochemical yes no yes no no yes
Chemiluminiscence yes n/a no IR photometry no no yes no yes no
Colourimetry yes no no Pellistor no no no no no yes
Electrical yes n/a no Chemiluminiscence no no no no no no
conductivity Colourimetry yes yes no
FID sensor no no no Electrical yes no no no no no
Photo-ionisation yes no no conductivity
Paramagnetic yes n/a yes FID sensor no no no no no no
Semiconductors yes no no Photo-ionisation no no no no no no
Thermal no no yes Paramagnetic no no yes no no n/a
conductivity
Semiconductors yes yes no yes no yes
UV photometry yes no no
Thermal no yes no yes no no
Table II Suitable sensor technologies for measuring ranges conductivity
UV photometry no yes yes no
The table II shows suitability of sensor technologies for
Table IV Sensitivity of sensor technologies to conditions
different concentration ranges be definitions of ppm (parts per
(T-temperature, H – humidity, P-pressure, S-air speed, D-dust,
million), % LEL (Lower Explosive Limit) a % volume.
O2 concentration).
For example a combination of a pellistor based principle
and either a thermal conductivity or IR absorption can be used
Many safety applications require the measurement of low
to measure flammable gas concentrations between around 1%
concentrations of hazardous gases. But there does problems
LEL up to 100% vol. But next the pellistor cannot measure
the atmospheric air with an oxygen level around 21% vol. A
concentrations abouve 100% LEL.
reduced oxygen level may affect sensor function, depending
B. Types of measuring devices on the type of principle. Some sensors require a minimum
The sensors could be applied for four type of devices: fixed concentration to correct operate. In the table IV it is seen the
installation, transportable, portable, or personal. Fixed and oxygen doesn´t give the problem only for electrochemical,
transportable implementation can be used for all technologies. pellistor and semiconductor technologies.
The portable implementation can´t be for portable unit for D. Other influences for measurement
chemiluminiscence principle. The personal devices don ´t use
The gases consist a mixture of not one gas but of two and
the chemiluminiscence, electrical conductivity, FID, photo-
more gases. The concentration is function of partial pressure,
ionization, paramagnetic, thermal conductivity, UV
e.g. for air in the atmosphere it is 210 mbar for oxygen, 780
photometry technologies.
mbar for nitrogen, 10 mbar for other gases for reference of
C. Environment condition of measurement 1000 mbar.
The environment condition is very important to ensure that The sensor in transmitter needs to have the measured gas
monoxide, carbon
dioxide, nitrogen
dioxide, sulphur
dioxide, benzene.
Power plants Flammable, Carbon monoxide,
toxic carbon dioxide,
A
of mixture of inflammable gas on hot-wire element (3,4,6, 8).
O2 Principle scheme displays fig.6. Technical solving of sensor is
dual type. Design a) in Figure 3 is implementation with
measuring chambers and evaluation electronics, design b) is
NO
compact sensor called pellistor (pelletised resistor).
1.1 1.2
SO2 1.3
NO2
N2 O
1 2
H2 O
nm
200 220 240 260 280 300 320
CO 2
CO CH
4
CH
a) b)
2 6 CH 2 6
CH 4
CH
2 6
Figure 3 Catalytic sensor (a-schemes, c-real sensor RAE
Systems)
radiation LED diode or special vacuum tube with short range compression of gas and for
of wave longitudes and accordant with input of intensity T * = kT / ε 12 (6)
radiation. Beams are guided into chambers (1) and generally
are multiple reflected on walls. Their intensity decreases and where k is Boltzmann constant, e12 is Lenard- Jones parameter
permeates across filter (5) into sensor (4). Signals from sensor of power interaction as function of critical temperature and
are modified in unit (A1). compression for air and gas.
electrolytically convertible or oxidate on metal catalyzer, as content of oxygen in mixture of gases. Electrolyte is from
are platinum or gold. Principle is analogue to electrochemical substances of zircon, zirconium oxide- oxide zircon with
cells. Electric voltage between anode and cathode in ingredient yttrium oxide- oxide itria. Movement of ions is at
electrolyte is changed according to gas concentration. Output higher temperatures above 300°C. Construction is given
can be voltage change (potentiometry) or in circuit with load double - sided sheeting of cylinder material of electrolyte with
resistor change of current (amperometry) (4). porous metal (platinium, gold or silver). On one’s side there is
According to the number of electrodes have produced measured gas, on second is electrode to react with reference
sensors as two, tri and four - electrode. gas or atmosphere and air. According to differences of oxygen
concentration (or differences of their partial pressure) at
i measured and reference gas rises on electrodes potential
U 3
4 + - 4 according to differences of concentration of oxygen. It is
6
2 2 possible create also circuit with metering of current when in
5 use external power supply. Chart of sensor with solid
1 electrolyte is in Figure 6.
1
3
4 6 2 1 3 5
a) b)
Figure 4 Graphs of absorption dependencies of
electromagnetic radiation at range of UV and IR for some
gases
V N
V
N
1 5
3
2 Figure 9 Scheme of oxidation semiconductor gas sensor
V out
Scheme of solid - state sensor features Figure 9. Sensitive
layer (1) is out of SnO2 or ZnO with conductivity of N type
and is in contact with measured gas. Other layers are: layer
R p
(2) out of SiO2, layer (3) out of ferrite, layer (4) out of RuO2
R b
and layer (5) is substrate and isolation. Sensor is heated from
temperature 200 as far as 450 °C. Contact layer (6) is out of
Figure 8 Electrical scheme of chemo-resistor gold, as well as leads. If power supply of sensor is constant
DC voltage current I is turned accordance with adsorption of
Wiring of chemo-rezistor is in Figure 8, where VH is voltage measured gas.
of heating, Vn is voltage of power supply of active layer, Rb
loading resistance, Vout is output signal. IX. CHEMFET PRINCIPLE
Active layer of chemo-resistor created from conductive At semiconductors CHEMFET there is achived potential
polymeric materials works so, that the measured gas is between gate and substrate in consequence of adsorption of
absorbed into those layer then there are come up changes of some gases on controlling electrode (14).
electrical resistance of whole layer. Acceptable there are e.g .
thin layers from clean polymers as is polypyrrolene, 6
polyaniline (it measures of gases methanolate, tetrachloride, 5 2 3 4
ethanol, toluene, acetone, ammonia etc) or from composite
polymeric materials doped most with black. Good results are
achived also by polymers on base of polystyrene for humidity 1
measurement in air and polyalinile for measurement of
ammonia with range of change in resistance from 1Ω to the
1GΩ values. Figure 10 Scheme of CHEMFET sensor
VIII. SEMICONDUCTOR PRINCIPLE OF OXIDATION In Figure 10 is: Substrate (1) is base of sensor from Si
solid - state material with conductivity PP. Gate is metal
Solid - state oxidation sensors there're intended for
control electrode made from Pd. It is sensitive to hydrogen and
detection of oxidation or reduction gases. The sensors have
to gases, where is possible hydrogen split off, e.g . NH3, H2S.
sensitive area on surface or are active whole capacity (13).
Gate is from substrate and from collector and source electrode
More ordinary sensors with surface detection are typically
separated for layer (3) from SiO2 or TiO2 or ZnO. Collector
compound from area of oxide of metal (ZrO22, SnO22, TiO2
etc.) round fine heating meanders (platinum or various oxides (4) and source electrode (5) are formed of semiconductor with
of metals). Areas absorb molecules of oxygen and when is it conductivity of type N. Measured gas (6) has accessed to gate.
heated, happens to reaction activated oxygen with molecules Gas has molecule H2, it is dissociated on surface Pd and rising
of oxidation or reduction gases on surface area and is changed dissociable atoms are adsorbed and further diffused as far as
electrical conductivity of oxide area. So it is possible detect on interface gate - insulation material. There is created dipole-
almost any oxidation gas and sensitivity is in range 20- 100 layer, which changes original potential and conductivity FET
ppm. structures. Gate from metal Pd is able to function also like
If is reducing gas (H22, CH44, CO, H22S, alcohol, izobutane), catalyzer and therefore conductivity is influenced also
gas acts like donator of electrons into semiconductors and oxidation gases, like is O2, Cl2 or at higher temperature also
increases conductivity of surface of sensitive layer. reduction CO in mixtures H2.
Contrariwise, if is oxidizing gas (O22, Cl22, NO22), it is
acceptor of electrons and conductivity is decreased. X. UV-IONOSATION PRINCIPLE
Modern and newly evolved principle in the field of
electrochemical sensors is principle photo-ionization (PID) by
S,t1
t2 Q,λ Fig.12 Scheme of measurement of gas mixture according to
thermal conductivity
(2) and two reference cuvettes (4) with comparison gas. The principles. Main parameters of sensors, which are very
glow wires into the cuvettes are resistance sensors at once. important for its selection, are:
They are from platinum. The thermal conductivity of tested • Accuracy and repeatability
gas changes the thermal flow from glow wires, at the same • Operating range
time there is changes intern temperature and next resistance of • Interference
wires. The system is into specific thermal block (3). • Warm-up time
The glowing is for constant electric power Pq that has • Response time
according to proportions and parameters of chamber value: • Zero and span drift.
2πlλ (1 + βt p )(td − t p ) The accuracy of gas sensors is fundamental parameter that it
Pq = R0 (1 + αtd ) I 2 = (11) involves a comparison with a true or accepted value. At the
ln(rp rk )
moment, the gas sensors have the accuracy up about 2% and
where is α thermal coefficient of wire resistance, I supply more. Repeatability compares results of other measurements
current, td wir temperature (it is from 50 up to 200°C), R made in the same way.
electric resistance of wire, λ coefficient of thermal The operation range of gas sensor is depended on used
conductivity of chamber walls, β coefficient of thermal principle. It can be e.g. in ppm units, or % of LEL, or % of
conductivity of gas, tp gas temperature , rd diameter of wire, concentration.
rk diameter of cuvette. Big problems come during the measurement of gas
The measurement system is connected to electronic unit (5) concentration with interferences. Gas sensors are affected to
with supply (6) and amplifier (7). some extent by contaminations other gas than that is
Thermal conductivity sensors are produced in MEMS measured. In the real word there aren´t the concentrations with
technology too. They only have a one half bridge unit with Ni only the calibrated gas. The output can be changed up to high
temperature sensor and heat source. The power is about or low output signal. The ideal principle is which has
5mW, time constant up to 5ms, time delay of gas filling is sensitivity only for one gas.
about 100 ms. Warm-up time is defined as the time necessary to measure
The thermal conductivity sensors can measure in range with full performance, and the right accuracy after being
from 0 up to 100% vol. The one has combined with catalytic turned on. The real value is from some seconds up to hours.
sensors at range of % LEL. The sensor has had high The response time is the important parameter with
sensitivity, “e.g.”the type NAP-21A at NEMOTO up to association the dynamic accuracy. The output signal of sensor
0,2mV/% vol of CO2. has other characteristic by change of gas concentration. Often
The main advantages of thermal conductivity sensors are: response time is defined as T63. The time signifies how long
• fitness to binary mixture time is necessary to rich of 63% of final value. In the praxis
• high sensitivity at gases with higher thermal there are used other parameters: T50 ( for 50% of final value)
conductivity (He, H2, Ne, CH4) and T95 (for 50% of final value). Learning and Comparison of
• quick response. modern gas sensors are very qualifiedly present in web-sides
The negativeness is: (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20).
• output signal is dependent on extern temperature
• without possibility to measure more component XIII. CONCLUSION
mixture of gases Presented text has given basic information in choice types
• without possibility to measure gases with small of sensors for measurement of concentration of gas, which are
thermal conductivity (“e.g.” CO, O2, N2, NH3). going to be subject of interest at applied research in to next
The fig.13 shows design of real thermal conductivity period at workplaces of faculty. It is going to have to perform
sensors and view on the MEMS sensor. analyses their possibilities and values of parameters to realize
requirements. Between critical points there are parameters of
range of measurement, direct and cross sensibilities of
measurement, accuracy and uncertainties in measurement,
characteristics, parasitic influences and further problems of
condition of output signal. The information of paper helps to
perfect decision to next work.